Basic Instinct
by atalanta108
Summary: "I installed a tracker on my phone and connected it to your phone, so you can check up anytime. Also if I suddenly start sending you random emojis, call the cops immediately." "If he doesn't let you take a pic at his car license and send it to me, then cancel the date." "I will." Fem!27 AU
1. Introduction Arc I

**Edit:7/14/2018**

 **Summary: At that moment, she wasn't an everyday, normal, civilian girl. At that moment, she wasn't the girl with the target on her back for a position she didn't want. She was the sky's. She belonged to it. She was one with the sky and she had never felt as happy as she was in that instant with the person she truly was.**

 **Rating: T but it may be bumped up to M because of the rather dark subjects I would like to explore.**

 **Note: I am an amateur and inexperienced writer and this fic is also a fun yet serious way for me to improve my writing skills so if you have any advice to help me better my story, then feel free to PM me or just review. I am looking for a Beta too, though I honestly don't know how the whole thing goes since I am also new at this site.**

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She absentmindedly wiped the sweat off her forehead with her elbow as she studied carefully the garden before her, ignoring the scorching heat of the sun on her back.

"We did nice work, don't you think, Tsunami-chan?" An exhausted but satisfied voice said from behind her and she turned around to see a middle-aged man smiling tiredly at her, the wrinkles on his face deepening as he wiped a white cloth at his sweating neck, coming to her side.

Indeed, the small garden looked tidier than usual as they had cleaned all the pots meticulously and picked the already mature fruits and vegetables.

She hummed in agreement and Kazumi-san stretched, sighing softly before facing her, wiping the cloth delicately at her dirty face.

"Thank you again for helping this old man, Tsunami-chan." He told her gratefully, placing a calloused hand on her shoulder.

"It was a pleasure, Kazumi-san." She replied sincerely as she stared at his dark brown eyes, laying her much smaller hand on his.

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She returned home with a basket of freshly picked tomatoes and eggplants, the sun setting and casting various shades of orange and yellow on the sidewalk. She unlocked the door and looked at the several neatly placed leather shoes placed in the entrance hall, easily hearing the voices coming from the living room and licked her lips anxiously.

She sighed.

She wished she just stayed at Kazumi-san's place.

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She tucked an errant curl behind her ear, before taking a sip of her jasmine tea as she listened to the light chatter around her as an arm suddenly rested on her shoulders and she turned her head to meet the cheerfully smiling face of her father.

"How's school been, Tsu-chan?" He asks cheerfully "There aren't any boys bothering you, are there?"

Tsuna didn't miss the sharp tilt in his smile or the promise of danger should her answer somehow displeased him.

"Fine," She shrugged."No boys." She continued softly, crossing her legs as she set the teacup down.

She didn't really hold much interest in either. School was just a necessary stepping stone in life and boys were too immature and very shallow at this age.

It was disgusting, honestly.

"That's my girl!" He said cheerfully, before drinking a mouthful of his glass.

Her nose twitched slightly and she turned her head to avoid smelling the unpleasant odor of alcohol, grimacing.

She placed her teacup near her nose, inhaling the jasmine scent as a distraction.

She gazed around her own garden, noting how much humbler it was than Kazumi-san's, from her place on the big, round table in their backyard, having moved there since the living room was too small with all the guests present. There were only a few well cared potted cactus' from Kazumi-san and the neat green grass that was notable.

Maybe she could ask Kazumi-san for some tips?

Her mama appeared at that moment with a deliciously smelling tray of food in hand and served them cheerily as compliments were thrown her way from some of her father's companions.

Her mama giggled delightedly and gazed lovingly at her father.

Oh, please no. She really did not want to see this, ever.

"Your mom's a pretty great cook, Sawada-chan! I think I'm in heaven," A foreign boy around her age with curly black hair and startling green eyes moaned happily, gorging on his plate rapidly.

She smiled politely in return despite the brief flash of irritation at being addressed in such a familiar name by a stranger.

"I thank you on her behalf. You may simply call me Tsuna, though, everyone does." She watched as 'cow-print' almost choked on his food and turned back on her plate, not feeling all that hungry anymore.

'Delinquent' guy whacked him none too gently on the back, a rather intimidating glare on his face as he hissed almost inaudibly at his fellow guest.

 _"Have you no manners at all, idiota? Manage to at least appear fucking decent or I swear that you'll fucking regret it."_

 _"What did I do, huh? I was perfectly well behaved! And as though you could do anything against the great Lambo-sama."_

She resisted rolling her eyes simply for politeness' sake at their lack of subtlety and completely rude behavior at the dinner table and 'cow prints' lack of self-awareness.

"So, how did you learn Italian?" A high pitched and squeaky voice asked and she turned her head to meet abyss like eyes, lowering her head out of respect than to see the _man_ before her better. She was distantly aware of the danger _he_ posed but not the how or limit to it, though she knew that unless she did something foolish and accidentally offended _the man_ before her (since she certainly had no intention of angering _him_ purposefully) that he would do something life threatening to her.

"I plan to travel the world one day so I taught myself languages and frequented extracurricular lessons on my free time," She responded warily. "I am Sawada Tsunami. May I please know your name?" She introduced herself after a second of hesitation and asked for his name since it would be impolite to continuously refer to him as ' _the man'_ and Sawada Nana did not raise ill-mannered children, ever.

"I am Reborn, The Greatest Hitman In The World," He introduced himself in a quite charming manner, tilting his miniature fedora in a way that made his sideburns bounce adorably and smirking cutely and had it not been for the way her instinct screamed danger, she would have mistaken him as a precocious little boy roleplaying.

If only it were that easy.

"Nice to meet you, Reborn-san." She said almost casually, ignoring the way her father glared at _the m -_ Reborn-san - as her mind quickly connected the pieces together and resolved a piece of her father's web of lies.

She pursed her lips together, somehow surprised at not being that surprised at the revelation.

"What other languages do you know, Tsuna?" The question ordered her attention and she focused once again at the deceiving smirking face of her interrogator.

She chewed slowly as she contemplated answering his question.

"English, Mandarin, Russian, Korean and Hindi, Reborn-san," She listed. "Why?"

She had learned Italian simply because her father had taught her some words when she was younger during his rare visits and she thought that it was fairly beautiful and also since having another European language other than English under her repertoire was rather appealing.

It was unnerving how he knew that she understood the 'secret' conversation the two teens shared and the casual chatter around her, though considering his maybe title, not that much surprising.

She met once again his blank, black gaze and fought the urge to shiver.

It was going to be a long night.

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"So, let me get this straight," her dark-haired best friend said disbelievingly, an eyebrow raised. "You're shifty father came back home after almost 6 years of absence with a group of even more weird looking teens and babies and acted as though he wasn't missing for longer than a week?"

"You're forgetting being interrogated by a dangerous man-baby." She said unenthusiastically.

Kurokawa Hana deadpanned at her.

"That too." She replied almost uncertainly.

Afterall, it was slightly unbelievable, but her best friend knew she wouldn't lie to her, especially about a personal and serious matter.

They were soon happily greeted by their other best friend along their way to Namimori High, their school.

"What're you girls talking about?" Kyoko tilted her as she asked curiously for the reason for the low mood both her dear friends were currently sporting, a worried frown making its way on her face.

Tsuna smiled at her reassuringly, placing a light kiss on her cheek.

"Don't worry your pretty little head, Kyo. Negative emotions don't suit you very much, I'm afraid."

She succeeded in making her caramel-haired friend smile, before explaining to her everything, with Hana chiming in remarks.

"Were they cute, at least?" Asked Hana coyly, raising a suggestive eyebrow at her.

Kyoko giggled, leaning closer in interest as she smiled slyly back.

"Cute, not really. More like hot," Afterall, she wasn't blind. "But their personalities are a little wanting from what I've seen. We'll see, though. They were enrolled at our school and starting today."

This seemed to effectively eliminate any residing tensions in their little group as they reached their classroom. Unfortunately, the three of them weren't next to each other this semester so they seated themselves in their proper seats as the teacher entered.

The teacher greeted them before announcing they were having new students, today.

Huh, she didn't actually think more than one of them would have ended in her class.

Whispers exploded from her classmates and she met Hana's dark gaze briefly before the teacher reined the gossipers adequately enough.

At his prompt, the door opened and squeals mixed with disappointed groaning sounded in the classroom as the delinquent guy and 'laughy' entered.

She tuned the teacher and the noises out as Hana turned around from her place in the middle-left of the class to shoot her an impressed look. Well, they were undoubtedly both attractive.

A commotion took their attention and she turned to her left to see delinquent guy glaring at her neighbor, much to the awe and disbelief of almost everyone.

"Maa, maa, that wasn't nice, Gokudera." Laughy said lightly from his place behind her, nothing really resembling reprimand in his tone as his fellow transferee just threatened and glared at her poor neighbor in leaving the desk.

Laughy had charmed the girl behind her in exchanging seats and she wondered why exactly they chose to sit near her. Maybe for familiarity or because of her connection to her father?

They both ignored the sputtering teacher in the front and wasn't it just amusing watching Nezu-sensei turn red in anger?

Hana raised an eyebrow at her as the resigned teacher began spouting today's lessons and even Kyoko shot her an inquisitive look from her place in the front.

She shrugged, crossing her legs lazily.

Her dark-haired friend turned back on her desk, quickly writing a note for her.

She took out a straw from her pocket and inserted her smoothly folded note in it before blowing it in her direction, the paper landing neatly on her desk.

 _"What was that about?"_

 _"How should I know?"_ She scrunched the piece of paper in her hands and skillfully flicked it towards her friend.

 _"You were the one who spent dinner with them last night. Not bad at all, though Gokudera needs to temper his anger."_

 _"You should see the others too. Is that a crush I hear, Hana?"_

 _"What? No. Pure and simple aesthetics, Tsuna. And don't change the subject."_

 _I don't know, alright? And denial doesn't don you well, flower Hana. I can see your blushing cheeks from here."_

 _"I'm not blushing! And I'm not the one with the monkey fanboys vying for a shred of your attention like the pathetic excuse of space that they are. Don't call me that."_

 _"Don't worry, I'll always put you first, darling. All those boys put together don't even hold a sliver of your charm ;)"_

 _"I hate you."_

 _"Love you too."_

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 ** _._**

 ** _._**

 ** _Couldn't help but write it guys! Or else I would probably forget it and you wouldn't get to read this fic._**

 ** _I got inspired while reading on Tumblr and tadaa, here it is. There were this women who posted some comments about the worry that we females go through on a first date in comparison to the worries that men have during their first date and while I have nothing against men , I do unfortunately recognize how things are in reality so the comments made me think about this, though I still am not sure if it's humor genre since this is my first try and I'm more into angst and drama so I guess you could say this fic is practice._**


	2. Introduction Arc II

**_A.N._**

 ** _Here's the second chapter~_**

 ** _Tsunami and co. are in high school so their ages would range between 15-17 since Kyoya, Mukuro and Ryohei are a year or so older than them here._**

 ** _For those who weren't aware of it before, this world is largely AU so that means they have more experience and thus will react accordingly to the situation in what they perceive as advantageous and/or the lesser of the two evils since the majority of the guardians didn't live their whole life in Namimori and therefore are not civilian._**

 ** _Also, I'm not sure yet but maybe I will change the rating from T to M since there are some rather dark themes I would like to explore in this fic considering this World is technically controlled by the Mafia and is not in any way, shape or form merely a Friendship Game._**

 ** _So...yeah, building a realistic world (as much as possible considering the KHR Verse is full of people who set themselves on fire on a daily basis) is in the plans but I would also like to explore and develop the relationships between everyone since The 7 flames bonds are highly intriguing._**

 ** _If you spot any errors, feel free to tell me and if you are confused by something, just ask and I'll try to explain clearly as much as possible if it isn't profoundly entrenched in the plot and therefore something you readers will only discover as you read on._**

 ** _And I confess to you all that I am a very, very new and rather inexperienced writer so this fic is also a fun way of learning for me._**

 ** _._**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own KHR because if I did, then it would be a lot more fuller of BAMF! female characters.**

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 _"Death will reach you once,_

 _Bear in mind, mortals,_

 _Actions done by you_

 _Come along with you._

 _Do good deeds and be ready_

 _Do not be lazy."_

 _~Hymm of the dead._

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Lessons passed quite normally after the introduction of her new classmates, dreadfully boring that is, unless you asked the newly founded fan clubs of the two new students.

Poor guys. Even she wouldn't wish her number one enemy to suffer a slow and painful death via crazy obsessed fans. Maybe.

She repressed a shiver at the thought of what exactly those maniacal monkeys were capable of trying just to get to know their 'idols'. Heaven knew just what the dumb monkeys were planning, but knowing them, it would either be stupidly clever or just straight up dumb.

She would know from experience, after all.

Nope, she wasn't going there. Abort, abort. She quickly shoved and locked up with imaginary heavy chains the memories surfacing in her mind in an easily forgettable box and focused all her attention on Fujiro-sensei's mind-numbingly tedious rant about World War II.

She sighed.

She glanced with vague curiosity at her orange-haired best friend and found her doodling in her notebook with a cute yellow feather pencil, a gift from their other best friend and she discreetly chanced a look behind her to see her pig-tailed friend leaning comfortably in her seat, legs crossed and easily looking as though she was currently in a 5 star luxury hotel's outdoor pool relaxing.

Whoever said pigtails were childish certainly never met Tsunami.

As if feeling her stare, said close friend almost lazily turned her head to meet her eyes and winked at her, a smile dancing on her face.

She could feel a corner of her lips tugging up as she turned back to face the blackboard but not before seeing the looks the black haired newbie behind gave her friend.

Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

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RING...RING...RING

Girls and a few guys immediately flooded over the new students' desks, so she quickly made her way out of the noisy classroom, followed not a second later by her friends.

Hana huffed in disgust.

"They sure don't know the word self-control."

She and Kyoko giggled as they made their way to the rooftop, their personal and private lunch place since the cafeteria was too crowded and everyone knew not to disturb them there or else...Kyo's brother would extremely punch them.

Ah, speak of the devil and he shall come. Not that she would ever think of Ryohei as a devil since he was a total sweetheart.

"Extremely good afternoon, girls! How were classes?" He greeted them with never-ending enthusiasm, absent-mindedly placing both strong arms on Kyoko and her shoulders, smiling brilliantly. She kissed him fondly on the cheek and he turned his head towards her, smiling.

"We have two new classmates, onii-chan! Gokudera Hayato and Yamamoto Takeshi and they seem really nice and smart." Kyoko said brightly.

"Ah, I too have a new Extreme classmate today, Kyoko-chan! He is Extremely good at fighting, too! He had these two Extreme metal sticks that can shoot spiked chains out of them!" Onii-san said in reply, his eyes beautifully shining with flames.

"Great, a new fighting obsessed monkey," Hana muttered sarcastically as she opened the door to the rooftop for them.

"Thanks." She smiled at her dark haired friend in gratitude. The other girl merely shrugged in reply.

They all sat down after Kyoko set her flower-themed picnic blanket down on the floor and pulled out their bentos.

"What's your new classmate's name, onii-chan?"

"Uhm, it was a bit similar to yours, Kyoko-chan, something about a skylark too..." He nibbled on a piece of sushi musingly, a frown on his face as he tried to recall his classmate's name.

Hana rolled her eyes while idly stuffing her mouth with some onigiri.

"Aha!" He punched a fist in his other hand as he remembered, dropping his chopsticks in his bento, smiling in success. "Hibari Kyoya, that was his name!"

A laugh suddenly captured their attention and they whipped their head in the door's direction to see the new students entering.

"You know Hibari, senpai?" Yama - something, she didn't really remember - asked cheerfully, eyes on them. "Mind if we join you? The cafeteria is full."

"Oh, not at all! Come sit, there's enough space for everyone!" Kyoko smiled at them sweetly, scooting over to make space as Onii-san answered his question and smiled warmly at them.

"No, there isn't," Hana said, glaring at them before Kyo elbowed her, shooting her surly best friend a reprimanding look.

"Haha, thanks. This is Lambo, by the way." Laughey gestured towards Cow prints who lazily greeted them and sat next to Kyoko as Laughey himself sat next to Onii-san in front of her while Delinquent guy sat near her.

They all pulled out some bentos as her friends started questioning them.

"Would you like some?" She inquired politely to Cow prints halfway to her meal, noting him not really enjoying his supermarket bought food.

He looked at her with startled surprise before immediately schooling his features in a nonchalant facade, subtly giving an almost hesitant look at his companions and then nodding.

"If it isn't a bother." He drawled lightly, his one open eye scrutinizing her intently. She smiled lightly, making him blink in slight wonder.

"You don't have to do that for the dum - Lambo, I mean." Delinquent guy told her gruffly. "You have to eat too, after all." He intimidatingly glared at Cow prints for a moment before turning to her when she spoke.

"It's fine, really." She smiled kindly at the both of them."I ate a lot during breakfast and I'm not hungry anymore, truly. You can take some if you want to, too and then you three can tell me what you thought of it so I can cook it better next time." Noticing the hesitance the silver-haired guy still had, she added. "It's a small Welcome to Namimori offering, too, you know." She smiled at the trio.

"Alright." The silver-haired student slowly picked an Onigiri from her still half-full bento as the other two chose what they both wanted to eat first.

She cocked her head to the side, giving him a curious stare.

"Less salt." He finally muttered under his breath after swallowing, averting his gaze.

"Less salt, it is." She said, ignoring her dark-haired friend huffing at the silver-haired's ungratefulness as Kyoko giggled warmly.

"It's delicious, Tsuna! You're an even greater chef than your mother." Laughey said cheerfully, disrupting the tension. Cow prints agreed happily, his mouth full of food.

"Thank you." She smiled at them, even if she didn't quite agree with them. Mama's cooking was always the greatest, no matter what.

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"I'll see you two tomorrow, bye!"

Tsunami walked leisurely towards her home, munching on a piece of takoyaki they had bought earlier as usual.

The streets were mostly empty and quiet, giving an image of peace and serenity. It was Namimori after all, one of the dullest towns in the world and practically nonexistent in any map. If it weren't for the mountains and the beach, it would have been a lot more boring, too.

The back of her neck tingled as she gently gazed at the afternoon sky and the way the sunlight hits the advancing spring leaves artistically, making them seem golden.

They suddenly reminded her of the Jackfruit Tree and its evergreen leaves. It was one of her favorite stories in the Moral Stories book that had been gifted to her on her 12th birthday.

The evergreen trees of a young Jackfruit tree lived in harmony till one of the leaves showed signs of changing its color. Its color slowly changed to a golden yellow. It did not realize that it was a result of withering, a symptom of inevitable aging. But the foolish leaf became boastful and told the green leaves that its golden hue was a special sign of its superior status. But some of the more intelligent green leaves observed the withered and dried leaves lying at the bottom of the neighboring trees and concluded that the color of the haughty leaf was an indication of an impending fall. They conveyed the message to the golden leaf but it was blind with pride and laughed at the other leaves.

One day, during a stormy night, the leaves trembled with the wind. The golden leaf lost its link with the tree and fell down helplessly. It was carried by the wind and it landed at the base of the tree. Lying there, it looked at the young, healthy and green leaves on the tree. The leaves appeared to dance in delight, possibly laughing at him, seeing its fatal fall. The withered leaf sadly withdrew into itself, accepting its final fate. It slowly disintegrated in the soil to become manure for the tree.

It was a gentle reminder of our mortality.

She picked up some dried leaves on the road to throw them in the air and watched as they drifted lightly in the wind, ending up who knows where.

She sighed softly, a faint puff of breath as she closed her eyes, lowering her head while she walked alone on the empty and silent streets.

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 ** _I hope you like it and I appreciate immensely the silent encouragement you give me._**

 ** _Question:_**

 ** _Who do you think gifted her the Moral Stories Book, guys?_**

 ** _By the way, the gold leaf story is real and isn't mine._**


	3. Introduction Arc III

_**Here's the update.**_

 _ **By the way, dear readers, I may be adding some things in the past chapters (more likely just in the last one) to make some things clearer and understandable but I think all you would actually need to do is just read the author's note in regards to the chapter.**_

 _ **So things like the age or why a certain character is acting like this and such since this world is an AU and if you've gotten this far, then you would know that the majority of the candidate guardians are not born/lived in Namimori and so their way of growing up and past experiences will certainly mold them in slightly different characters.**_

 _ **Don't worry, the change isn't that completely drastic since I love them too much but things will definitely change as different paths are taken and explored.**_

 _ **If you don't understand something or you have some questions regarding the chapters, feel free to tell ( A.K.A. to write ) me.**_

 _ **Hope you review~**_

 ** _._**

 **Note: Japan has one of the most highest age of consent in the world. According to my not really thorough research, an adult of age 20 could still be sent to prison if engaged in sexual acts with someone of the same age or below. Though the age consent for sexual relationships is 18, if parents file a complaint of their son/daughter of 20 years old engaging in sexual acts, they could both be in serious trouble for violating the 'Obscene Juvenile Act' law.**

 **(I actually planned this to be a useful note in regards to this chapter but writing it, I thought it was too early so oops, sorry.)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not, unfortunately, own the glorious, extremely amusing and full of different and mysterious paths to traverse, Katekyo Hitman Reborn Verse.**

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 _You're hot, hot, weather in the summer,_

 _High, high, neglectful lover_

 _Hot, hot, weather in the summer_

 _High, neglectful summer_

 _You're crumbling sadly_

 _You're slowly crumbling._

 _\- Shades of Cool~_

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A sigh fell from her lips as she unamusedly stared at her father's snoring, neon orange boxer-clad form on the floor before she quickly took the empty bottles littering the living room to go throw them in the trash can designated for glass materials placed just out of the back door in the kitchen.

Her mama must be out grocery shopping since all the consumed food yesterday must have emptied the fridge.

She took a red apple from the fruit basket on the counter and absentmindedly washed it before peeling it with one of the many sharp silver knives in the top drawer near the sink.

Nezu-sensei gave them a lot of homework today, as usual, so she should probably start on them later if she didn't want to stress herself completing them all tomorrow evening and maybe she could ask Hana to help her with the too difficult math equations at lunch break tomorrow, too. Besides, she had a club meeting tomorrow, so they can't go to one of their houses for a study session.

"Welcome home, Tuna-fish," a familiar, deep, sunny voice spoke from behind her and she gasped in startled surprise as she accidentally cut herself with the blade. "Hey! You alright?" A tanned and calloused hand grabbed her bleeding hand with surprising gentleness and she watched, resting on one of the chairs her father insistently made her sit on, as her father rifled clumsily through the kitchen drawers.

"The first aid kit is in the third drawer on your right," she told him impatiently and her father grinned when he found it, coming over to sit in front of her and meticulously cleaning her hand after washing his hands.

"You should be more careful, Tsu-chan," he scolded her fondly, though there wasn't any actual hint of reprimand in his voice.

"You startled me. I didn't know you were there at all, I thought you were sleeping," _and drunk_ was what was left unsaid but heard nonetheless in the almost stifling stillness clouding over them. "You shouldn't drink so much, it's bad for your health." She told him after a momentary pause, brows lightly furrowed and lips pursing for a second as he finished neatly bandaging her hand. He was good at this.

"I know, I know," he chuckled warmly, still indecently dressed and acting like an irresponsible idiot. "My colleague always tells me that. I'll introduce you two, someday. You two would like each other."

She felt briefly surprised at the off-handedly given information.

Her father didn't talk much about his work but instead of the questions running in her mind, she said. "You should dress. What, do you enjoy stripping and prancing around naked?"

"Hey, your gorgeous mother appreciates the view, you know." He grinned at her cheesily, eyebrows moving in a ridiculous fashion as her mouth twisted in slight disgust at the thought and picture conveyed.

"You both should keep it strictly in the bedroom and perhaps you should make the walls soundproof, as well," she stated, extremely irked. "What time did she leave, anyway?" She usually left during early mornings and took around 1 and a half hour to come back from the market but given the unexpected change in schedule, she could have left anytime and be at the market longer because of the undoubtedly many other shoppers.

"Almost an hour ago," he responded easily, "There are some leftovers in the fridge if you're hungry." She nodded and made to stand up.

"I wanted to talk to you, actually," the abrupt change of tone froze her and she looked at intense and shrewd hazel orbs as she slowly sat down again.

She tilted her head questioningly, mouth dry, feeling dread churn in her stomach as she suddenly had the feeling that she wouldn't like the incoming conversation.

The man in front of her was her father and yet, he wasn't. Gone was the happy go lucky, stupid grin on his face and in front of her was a sober and dangerous man with a commanding and dark presence, posture straight and firm and suddenly so much bigger than before.

No, this man wasn't her father.

"I am sorry for what I am dragging you into, Tsunami," the stranger before her stated solemnly as he maintained her gaze steadily, a million things going unsaid between them _(_ _but it's necessary and I won't take no for an answer)._

"I am part of the Mafia."

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Raindrops splashed rhythmically on her closed window while she gazed through heavylidded amber eyes at the ceiling, lying limply on the carpeted floor with tons of colorful pillow surrounding her, shoulder length hair spread messily like a golden halo over her head and school uniform rumpled.

Her eyes fluttered as she yawned, relaxed and mind still hazy from the deep slumber that had engulfed her earlier, the steady and calming pitter-patter in the background almost lulling her back to sleep.

She sighed contently before arching her stiff back, leisurely sitting up and turning her eyes to the large window in front of her.

The cloudy sky from earlier had been covered by the now almost gently falling rain and before she knew it she was standing by the window with her pale, long-fingered hand slowly opening it.

She was hit by the smell of wet nature and she turned around to stick her head and upper body to face the crying sky, the cement digging on her back as the rain gradually drenched her.

She spread her arms to grip at the sides of the windowpane, her damp hair heavy but she didn't care.

She let the rain intimately kiss her skin as though a long-missing lover, gone for far too long and achingly missing his presence.

At that moment, she wasn't Sawada Tsunami, 15 years old civilian high schooler, daughter of an oblivious and lonely housewife and a cold-hearted mafioso with his hands drenched in thick, red blood.

She wasn't the sole candidate of a high, unwanted position that would ensure she would have a target on her head for the rest of her undoubtedly short life.

She wasn't the girl that would have to sacrifice her life for an organization of criminals that she didn't care for or be forced to be a breeding mare to guarantee an heir in her stead.

No, at that moment, she was no one.

She opened her eyes slightly and reached an arm to the edge of the rooftop, pulling herself up with the skill of someone who did this regularly.

She stood on bare feet on the roof and ran her hands through her hair, pushing the soppy strands off her face and feeling light for the first time in who knows how long.

She was herself.

As though sensing she had reached a conclusion, the rain stopped and she watched as the dark clouds gradually parted to reveal an orange streaked sky, the sight making her breathless as she finally realized.

She wasn't the normal civilian student or the unwilling sacrifice or even a nobody.

She was the sky's.

She belonged to the sky.

She was one with the never-ending, beautiful sky before her and she had never felt as truly happy as she was with the being she really was at that moment.

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(Unknown to her was the ethereal sunset orange light glowing starkly in her eyes.)

Meanwhile, a certain baby with an oversized black fedora on his head smirked from his place on the tree branch offering a clear view of his target, his small, green partner transforming back to his original form from the umbrella it used to be, landing on a tiny shoulder to touch a chubby cheek with his pink tongue in affection.

Black, abyss-like eyes glanced at the chameleon, petting a hand absentmindedly to the animal's head.

"Looks like it'll be more interesting than I thought."

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.

 ** _What did you think?_**

 _ **I hope I wasn't too vague.**_

 _ **Leave some of your thoughts, please.**_

 _ **I'm interested to hear them.**_

 _ **By the way, are any of you a fan of Lana del Rey? If you are, then surely you would have recognized the lyrics at the top. That album is awesome! I am so in love with Black Beauty, Brooklyn Baby, Fucked my way to the top, Sad Girl, and West Coast!**_

 _ **Like, I can't just stop listening to her songs at the middle of the night (and the whole day, too) and cloud my mind with melancholy and depression and waaah! her songs are just amazing~**_

 _ **I'm a huge fan.**_


	4. The calm before the storm

"If he backs down from his position as leader of CEDEF, can he take the mantle of Boss?"

She carefully didn't meet glinting black eyes, instead focusing half-heartedly on the three pictures on the table. The three murdered sons of Timoteo of Vongola, the ninth and current boss of the biggest and most dangerous mafia family in Italy and the majority of Europe.

Huh, at least it wasn't some _lowly_ , _illegal_ business she was taking over. Might as well go big before her no doubt early death.

"That would depend on the famiglia's decision and a lot of politics but yes, technically he could." _though he wouldn't_ , was the unvoiced but nonetheless heard continuation.

If the three adult sons of a powerful mafia family, who were most likely trained since birth in politics and combat and whatever a Mafioso needed to not only survive but thrive in the Mafia, got killed so easily just like that, then what chances did she have?

"Did they take care of who killed them?"

None, that were the chances. The only good thing out of all of this was the fact that she wasn't immediately shipped off to Italy to become a baby bearer.

Is she had to die, then it should be either because she wasn't good enough or because Reborn somehow failed at protecting her before his job was done. Even if he was dangerous and unpredictable, she knew that he would make sure she lived long enough to take the mantle of Vongola Decima.

Not because he cared or even because of his job as her tutor/main guard, but because of his pride. An assassin slipping into his guard without his consent and knowledge was like saying he wasn't good enough. Her death would be like an annoying gum stuck under his shiny, miniature leather shoes. Not enough to warrant his anger but annoying enough to tickle his sensibilities.

Reborn was a prideful being and failing was not in his vocabulary, of that, she was sure.

He was the Greatest Hitman in the World, after all.

"No, but they are working on it." Great.

"Reborn-san, is there a time limit?" The fake baby had called her a candidate for the position of the heir so that meant that she wasn't the official heir, yet. For all she knew, if he deemed her a waste of time, she could easily be discarded like a common piece of trash.

Of course, she wouldn't mind not having the heavy burden of a Mafia Don, but she feared the way she would be discarded. It could easily equal to a bullet between the eyes or being forced to produce the next generation as soon as possible.

"That depends on the Ninth's decision." The man in the baby's body scrutinized her calculatingly and she took a deep breath as thoughts raced in her mind, carefully relaxing in her seat on the carpeted floor, staring at her linked fingers as though they held the answer to her every problem.

"Do we have to stay here in Namimori? I mean that it doesn't exactly offer many opportunities for environment training." She said, almost hesitantly but she forced herself to look at the fake baby.

She didn't know anything at all about a Mafia Boss's job other than guesses and the general knowledge, though she doubted half of them were true, however, she knew enough of it to be sure that she wouldn't be ab;e to pursue her dreams anymore.

This training, the short time before whatever the future had in store for her, would be the only chance she would get to achieve it all. And she would be an idiot if she didn't take advantage of it, if she didn't at least try.

She knew that she would regret not taking the chance for all of her life if she didn't do this, if she took the coward's path and did nothing for herself before imminently changing into a person she would have never thought of becoming.

She stood up and strode quickly to her desk, opening a locked closet to pull out a leather book, pulling from its pages a dozen carefully folded papers. She gripped the things in her hands to her chest like a shield as she turned around to face the still figure of the World's Greatest Man in the world and for a moment she saw not the image of a baby in a charmingly cute suit but a tall, striking man in his place, dressed in a sharp, black suit, with smoldering black eyes and a dangerous smirk.

 _'Show me what you can do.'_ His stare seemed to purr.

She blinked and he vanished. Her eyes unconsciously fell to the pacifier for a brief moment before a squeaky voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Explain."

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* * *

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End file.
